The Norfolk of 120 years ago is pretty much unrecognizable from the modern city. The Confederate monument was removed in 2017, but if you go to Google Maps Street View, looking west down Main Street from Commercial Place, you can still see it, as that photo is dated 2016. As a kid living in Norfolk in the 80s, we used to ride our bikes down by the waterfront, before it was redeveloped into condos and shops. Many of those cobblestone streets shown in the old photo were still there, including in our neighborhood of Ghent. Lots of existing granite curbs too.

[Wikipedia says it was moved in 2020, to Elmwood Cemetery, minus the column. - Dave]

For those curious -- and knowledgeable -- about Virginia history: yes, the Miller Rhoads store seen here was affiliated with the famous store in Richmond. It expanded into a more impressive building on Plume Street, but as it grew the connection diminished, and it became W.G. Schwarz Schwartz Swartz.